Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: In this course we will survey the history of what certainly is the most widely spoken language in the twenty-first century. Beginning with its prehistory on the Continent over two thousand years ago, we will trace the fortunes of English from Anglo-Saxon times to its present manifestations across national boundaries. We will learn the distinctions of sounds, inflectional endings, and sentence patterns that mark each major stage of the language. Though the course will focus on the different forms of the language as they survive in various texts, we will pay some attention to the interaction between the internal history of English and the social and political contexts that define its external history. The goal is a better understanding of change in English and the signs of this change that can be seen everywhere from spelling to legal procedure. No previous study of linguistics is required; a willingness to learn phonetic transcription early in the semester, however, is crucial.

Texts: David Crystal, The Stories of English (2004); Harcourt, One Hundred Words Almost Everyone Mispronounces (2008).

E 396L •
Beowulf

35150 •
Spring 2015
Meets
MW 300pm-430pm PAR 210

In this course we will read the 3,182 line poem in the original Old English and its several hundred years of linguistic and critical tradition, moving necessarily at the pace of 220-250 lines of translation a week. Previous semester-length study of Old English or Old Norse required.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: English has no equal for being the most widely used language, though this has not always been the case and will not always be so. We will look at the steps that brought it to this position: at earlier English in competition with other languages, at what might be the core features of English and what alters or preserves them, and particularly at the role of English’s role as an intermediary of translation and as one lingua franca among others. The focus of this course is on the description of the past and current varieties of the language, particularly grammar (and within grammar, sentence structure, inflection, and spelling), and, despite Greene’s subtitle, not on the politics of ESL or EFL use and planning.

Topics will include a review of the history of English as a second or official language; the distinctive features of English over time and space; defining characteristics of spoken and written varieties, their registers, and vocabulary; case studies of English from among the following environments: England (sometimes called English English), Australia, West Africa (e.g. Ghana), India, English-based creoles such as Tok Pisin and Sranan, Chicana/o English, Estuary English, Irish English, and Newfoundland English.

Texts: David Bellos, Is That A Fish in Your Ear? ( Faber and Faber, 2011, ppb 2012) • Leslie Dunton-Downer, The English Is Coming! (Simon and Schuster, 2010) • Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak (Random House, 2011) • Nicholas Ostler The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel (Walker and Company, 2010) • Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah, International English, 5rd ed (Hodder, 2008).

Optional: • David Crystal The Stories of English (2004) • Nicholas Ostler Empires of the Word: An Language History of the World (2006) • James Pennebaker, The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us (2011) • Scott L Montgomery Does Science need a Global Language? (2013) • Jennifer Jenkins, World Englishes, 2nd ed. (2009).

Requirements & Grading: Grades will be awarded on a scale of 100 and converted into plus and minus letter grades at the end of the semester in accord with departmental policy: 94-100 (A), 90-93 (A-), 87-89 (B+), 84-86 (B), 80-83 (B-), 77-79 (C+), 74-76 (C), 70-73 (C-), 67-69 (D+) and so on.

Quizzes (20%) Quizzes will be given as necessary to check progress on reading to test your grasp of essential points and data in the readings, and your powers of concise, accurate expression. Three in-class closed-book exams plus a final exam (70%).

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism and an on-line concordance. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from travelogues, chronicles, translations from Latin, and saints' lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer and possibly The Seafarer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh, The Battle of Maldon, and The Dream of the Rood, possibly some riddles and Biblical epic. Daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism and an on-line concordance. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from travelogues, chronicles, translations from Latin, and saints' lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer and possibly The Seafarer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh, The Battle of Maldon, and The Dream of the Rood, possibly some riddles and Biblical epic. Daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam.

35690 •
Fall 2013
Meets
TTH 200pm-330pm PAR 302

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: English is presently spoken by 5.4% of the world’s population. It has no equal at present for being the most widely used language, though this has not always been the case and may not always be so. We will look at the steps that brought English to this position over the last three centuries, at earlier English in competition with other languages, at what might be the core features of English and what alters or preserves them, sometimes through the English-language media outside this country. The focus in this course is on the description of the past and current varieties of the language, not on the politics of ESL use and planning.

Topics will include a brief review of the history of English as a first language since 1066; the history of English as a second or official language (including a look at English loanwords in other languages); the distinctive features of English over time and space: sounds, inflections, and grammar; the spoken and the written varieties, with some attention to register and vocabulary; and brief case studies from among the following environments: Australia, India, Tok Pisin and Sranan, West Africa, Canada, Chicano English, and Estuary English.

Texts: David Bellos, Is that A Fish In Your Ear? (2012) Leslie Dunton-Downer The English Is Coming! (2012), Robert Lane Green You Are What You Speak (2011) Nicholas Ostler The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel (2010) Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah, International English, 5th ed. 2008 (Edward Arnold);

Requirements & Grading: Quizzes (15%) Quizzes will be given as necessary to check progress on reading.

Selective bibliography and sentence outline (subheadings) for an encyclopedia-style report on a variety of World English (3 pages) (10%)

Four in-class exams (60%)

Comprehensive final exam or, with arrangement by the 5th week of class, a formal paper (15%)

E 364P •
Old English

The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, aka Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism, an on-line concordance, and standard student grammars. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from proverb collections, vernacular chronicles, and saints’ lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh and The Battle of Maldon, enigmatic first-person poems like The Dream of the Rood,The Wife’s Lament, and possibly some riddles. There will be daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam or, with previous negotiation by October 25th, a brief but formal presentation culminating in a written project.

E 395N •
Old English

The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, aka Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism, an on-line concordance, and standard student grammars. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from proverb collections, vernacular chronicles, and saints’ lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh and The Battle of Maldon, enigmatic first-person poems like The Dream of the Rood,The Wife’s Lament, and possibly some riddles. There will be daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam or, with previous negotiation by October 25th, a brief but formal presentation culminating in a written project.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism and an on-line concordance. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from travelogues, chronicles, translations from Latin, and saints' lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer and possibly The Seafarer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh, The Battle of Maldon, and The Dream of the Rood, possibly some riddles and Biblical epic. Daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism and an on-line concordance. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from travelogues, chronicles, translations from Latin, and saints' lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer and possibly The Seafarer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh, The Battle of Maldon, and The Dream of the Rood, possibly some riddles and Biblical epic. Daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam.

E 603A •
Comp And Reading In World Lit

34560 •
Fall 2012
Meets
MWF 1100am-1200pm CRD 007B

In the first semester we will read a number of texts from the European epic tradition in historical order, with a view towards understanding how these works have retained their interest and authority over the centuries, and how they provide models of literary form that persist from antiquity through the long medieval era. Some of the texts are central to the Great Books curriculum of the twentieth century; others’ significance is no longer so obvious. We will look into both the workings of large narrative forms that lie behind the modern notion of a book chapter and the development of a forensic tool kit of rhetorical, literary, and even grammatical structures.

Beginning in the second week, everyone will regularly bring to class meetings a written focused response (about 300 words) to the reading selection that can catalyze discussion and provide the seed for cogent essays. Plagiarism = Failure. Since there is no midterm or final exam, presence and participation in class are crucial; anyone missing four classes, for any reason, will fail the course. You will also write four short formal essays (800-1000 words) over the course of the semester that will develop your ability to present an original and persuasive contextual close reading of passages from these texts and a slightly longer formal analytical one towards the end of the semester.

35715 •
Spring 2012
Meets
TTH 200pm-330pm CBA 4.342

Renaissance English

E 323L •
English As A World Language

Cross-listed with LIN 323L

Description: English is presently spoken by 5.4% of the world’s population. It has no equal at present for being the most widely used language, though this has not always been the case and may not always be so. We will look at the steps that brought English to this position over the last three centuries, at the role earlier English has played in competition with other languages, and at what might be the core features of English and what alters or preserves them, sometimes through the English-language media outside this country. The focus in this course is on the description of the past and current varieties of the language, not on the politics of ESL use and planning.

Topics will include a brief review of the history of English as a first language since 1066; the history of English as a second or official language (including a look at English loanwords in other languages); the distinctive features of English over time and space: sounds, inflections, and grammar; the spoken and the written varieties, with some attention to register and vocabulary; and brief case studies from among the following environments: Australia, India, Tok Pisin and Sranan, West Africa, Canada, Chicano English, and Estuary English.

Grading Policy: Quizzes (15%) Quizzes will be given as necessary to check progress on reading. Selective bibliography and sentence outline (subheadings) for an encyclopedia-style report on a variety of World English (3 pages)(10%). Three or Four in-class exams (60%) Students elect either to take a comprehensive final exam or write a draft and final version of the report (4-page rough draft with sources; 6-8 page final version of report) (15%)

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

English Major Area:IV. Language or Writing

E 364M •
History Of English Language

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing. No exceptions.

Course Description: In this course we will survey the history of what could be argued to be now the most popular language in the world, and certainly the most widely known. Beginning with its prehistory on the Continent over two thousand years ago, we will trace the fortunes of English from Anglo-Saxon times to its present manifestations across national boundaries. We will learn the distinctions of sounds, inflectional endings, and sentence patterns that mark each major stage of the language. Though the course will focus on the different forms of the language as they survive in various texts, we will pay some attention to the interaction between the internal history of English and the social and political contexts that define its external history. The goal is a better understanding of change in English and the signs of this change that can be seen everywhere from spelling to legal procedure. No previous study of linguistics is required; a willingness to learn phonetic transcription early in the semester, however, is crucial.

Texts: Millward and Hayes, A Biography of the English Language, 3rd edition (2011); Millward, Workbook to Accompany A Biography of the English Language (1990); Harcourt, One Hundred Words Almost Everyone Mispronounces (2008).

E 364P •
Old English

The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon in some places. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism and on-line grammars and concordances. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from proverb collections, translations from Latin, vernacular chronicles, and saints’ lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh and The Battle of Maldon, enigmatic first-person poems like The Dream of the Rood, The Wife’s Lament, The Seafarer (for which students can consult Ezra Pound’s battered student reader in the HRHRC) and possibly some riddles.

Requirements

Daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam of sight and prepared translation and commentary, or, with previous negotiation by October 25th, a substantial written project.

E 395N •
Old English

The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon in some places. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism and on-line grammars and concordances. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from proverb collections, translations from Latin, vernacular chronicles, and saints’ lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh and The Battle of Maldon, enigmatic first-person poems like The Dream of the Rood, The Wife’s Lament, The Seafarer (for which students can consult Ezra Pound’s battered student reader in the HRHRC) and possibly some riddles.

Requirements

Daily translation, homework exercises, grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam of sight and prepared translation and commentary, or, with previous negotiation by October 25th, a substantial written project.

E 323L •
English As A World Language

34703 •
Spring 2010
Meets
TTH 930-1100 MEZ 1.202

Description:

English is presently spoken by 5.4% of the world’s population. It has no equal at present for being the most widely used language, though this has not always been the case and will not always be so. We will look at the steps that brought English to this position, at the role earlier English has played in competition with other languages, and at what might be the core features of English and what alters or preserves them. The focus of this course is on the description of the past and current varieties of the language, particularly grammar (and within grammar, sentence structure, inflection, and spelling), not on the politics of ESL use and planning.

Topics will include a brief review of the history of English as a second or official language; the distinctive features of English over time and space; defining characteristics of spoken and written varieties, their registers and vocabulary; case studies of English from among the following environments: England (sometimes called English English), Australia, West Africa ( esp. Nigeria), India, Tok Pisin and Sranan, Chicana/o English, Estuary English, and Newfoundland English.

Assignments & Grading:

Grades will be awarded on a scale of 100 and converted into plus and minus letter grades at the end of the semester in accord with departmental policy: 94-100 (A), 90-93 (A-), 87-89 (B+), 84-86 (B), 80-83 (B-), 77-79 (C+), 74-76 (C), 70-73 (C-), 67-69 (D+) and so on.

There will be 4-8 quizzes over the course of the semester on the week’s reading, worth a total of 15 % There will be no makeup quizzes. The lowest quiz grade (including zero) will be dropped.

There will be four in-class exams, somewhat cumulative, the first of which is worth 15% and the remaining three 20% each. The exams will be blue book exams (closed-book), and include both short answer questions on the reading and short essays; sometimes the essay questions will be provided beforehand. The essays will reward both accurate presentation of the readings and discussion and original thinking on your part.

The remaining 10 % is your attendance percentage. You are allowed two absences without penalty (other than the possibility of a second missed quiz). The third and any subsequent absences subtract one point each from your final grade. Additionally, three tardies count as an absence, and arriving more than 15 minutes late counts as an absence.

Students with Disabilities:

Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259.

E 364M •
History Of English Language

34932 •
Spring 2010
Meets
TTH 200pm-330pm PAR 206

History of the English Language

Dr. Blockley

E 364M (#34932)

Parlin 320

LIN 364M (#41177)

471-8362

office hours: T 12-1, W 2-3, aba

Spring 2010

T TH 2:00-3:30 PAR 206

No previous study of linguistics is required; a willingness to learn phonetic transcription early in the semester, however, is crucial. There will be weekly homework exercises to give practice in working with different aspects of the kinds of analysis developed for languages. I will preview the material covered in the exercises in class before they are due, and will collect and mark some of them to keep us on course. On some days we will begin class by considering questions about present day English language and literature that the material we cover that hour will enable you to answer.

Required Texts:

Celia Millward, A Biography of the English Language, 2nd edition (1996)

C. Millward, Workbook to Accompany A Biography of the English Language 2nd ed (1996)

Editors of the American Heritage Dictionary One Hundred Words Almost Everyone Mispronounces (2008)

Grading:

Exercises + quizzes (8-12 assignments in all)

....................

30% total

Attendance and active participation

....................

10%

In-class blue-book exams (75 minutes)

....................

15% first exam

....................

20% second exam

Comprehensive final exam

....................

25% final exam

(Saturday afternoon 2-5, May 15th)

No make-up exams without a proven medical emergency.There will also be no makeup quizzes, but there will be 6-10 quizzes, and the lowest quiz grade will be dropped before averaging.

Grades will be awarded on a scale of 100 and converted into plus and minus letter grades at the end of the semester in accord with departmental policy: 94-100 (A), 90-93 (A-), 87-89 (B+), 84-86 (B), 80-83 (B-), 77-79 (C+), 74-76 (C), 70-73 (C-), 67-69 (D+) and so on.

You are expected to come to every class meeting having completed the assigned reading and the exercises from the workbook. Please bring your textbook and workbook to class, as we will be working closely with them. I highly recommend photocopying your exercises. I will collect exercises from the workbook (and some from me) regularly, so be prepared to hand them in on the day they are due in the syllabus. Late exercises will not be accepted. If you know you are unable to attend class, turn in the homework due for that day at my office (Parlin 320) before 2:00 pm, or have someone bring yours to class.

While most exercises require only the textbook and your sometimes considerable ingenuity, you will also need access to a serious dictionary (i.e. bigger than a paperback or the brief entries on Bartleby) to do the homework exercises marked *. The best resource you have when on campus or otherwise identifiable as a UT student is the on-line Oxford English Dictionaryhttp://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl Be sure you are able to access this resource!

Attendance Policy:

One unexcused absence is free. For a second and each subsequent unexcused absence, one point will be deducted from your final average, up to one full letter grade. Three tardies count as an absence, and arriving more than 15 minutes late counts as an absence.

Students with Disabilities:

Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259.